Play: Digging Deeper
- single session
The importance of play for all ages is now confirmed through science, at a time when opportunities for children's play play are being eroded as never before in history. One of the findings around play is that it is both an indicator and a support for emotional health and well-being. Now that we know the value of play, it should be a simple matter to just let children play in order for them to reap the benefits for their learning and development, but a deeper look reveals that it isn't always as simple as it appears.
Some children have difficulty falling spontaneously into play even if the opportunity arises, while others will only play if an adult plays with them. When life is difficult, the impulse to play can often go missing, and yet it's one of the ways balance can be restored.
This session looks at what children need in order to play, what the characteristics are of play that serves development and emotional health, and how parents and teachers can provide the conditions that allow this play to emerge.
Waldorf Academy
250 Madison Ave (near Davenport)
October 6
3:00-5:15pm
$30/$50
Rest: Fulfilling Your Child's Attachment Hunger
- single session
Many parents recognize the importance of attachment, especially for young children, but fulfilling a child’s attachment hunger is not always easy. A child needs the security of a safe relationship to be able to rest and feel the fulfillment of being cared for. This is the basis of emotional development.
Most parents strive to provide for the needs of their children, yet the realities of life in today's world can make providing for this most basic need a challenge.
Topics:
Why is rest so necessary?
How to take charge of providing contact and connection so a child can rest
How to fulfill a child's attachment hunger
How to instil confidence in ourselves as providers
How to keep the connection safe and secure
This session is part of Helping Children Grow Up, Part II of Dr. Neufeld's flagship course Power to Parent.
Waldorf Academy
250 Madison Ave (near Davenport)
October 20
3:00-5:15pm
$30/$50
Accepting Limits and Adapting to Life
- single session
A popular idea today is that a child should not have to face limits - after all, anything is possible! And if they face opposition, Never Give Up!
But life sometimes creates circumstances that bring changes beyond anyone's control, especially a child's. On the level of daily life, limits exist, time runs out, pets and people die, life changes. In these situations, acceptance and adaptation is the only way through.
Back at the ranch, when a parent says screen time is over, what does it take for a child to accept the limit without a fight or an explosion? Healthy adaptation to circumstances big and small is a journey of tears, obvious physical tears for the young child, just inner sadness, perhaps, for older children, and ourselves. Tears and sadness are of vital importance for having a soft heart. When tears get stuck, aggression in one form or another, verbal or physical, is a typical outcome. This session aims to encourage you to set limits and hold them. It also explains how to facilitate the child's journey through sadness and tears that is one of the keys to their maturation.
This session is part of Helping Children Grow Up, Part II of Dr. Neufeld's flagship course Power to Parent.
Waldorf Academy
250 Madison Ave (near Davenport)
October 27
3:00-5:15pm
$30/$50
Making Sense of Preschoolers
- four-week course
This course reveals the inner landscape of the preschooler to parents, teachers, or anyone who has one of these delightful and unique beings in their life (preschoolers are defined as age 2-5 regardless of school attendance).
No one is more misunderstood than the preschooler. They can be remarkably articulate at times and fool us into thinking that they are more like us than they really are. Projecting adult psychology onto them is a typical pitfall.
With insight into their separation anxiety, resistance, tantrums, aggression, shyness, and more, we can better respond to the preschooler’s behaviours and provide for their needs in ways that support healthy development. Rather than pushing them to be other than they are, we can celebrate their differences. Instead of trying to get them to grow up, we can provide the conditions conducive to their transformation. Knowing what they need helps us to engage more intuitively and fruitfully with them.
This material is also helpful to get maturation back on track when an older child remains stuck in immaturity.
Topics covered:
- the three characteristics of a preschooler that make them different from adults
- their three irreducible needs
- three characteristic behaviours that adults want to nip in the bud - and why we shouldn't
- six common mistakes adults make with preschoolers
Waldorf Academy
250 Madison Ave (near Davenport)
Four Sundays November 3 to 24
3:00-5:30pm
$120/$190